Whenever someone asks me where my favorite spot in all of Yosemite National Park is for wedding photos my answer is always going to be Olmsted Point. Sure Yosemite has no shortage of incredible sights and many of them make for excellent outdoor wedding venues, but Olmsted is a cut above the rest. Located towards the eastern side of Yosemite National Park along the Tioga highway Olmsted is a scenic viewpoint along the road many stop at for a few pictures before carrying on. The views from the parking area are great, but that’s not what makes Olmsted my favorite. A short walk down a set of granite steps and around 500 feet of hiking leads you to a granite outcropping with views down the center of the valley featuring Half dome, Lake Tenaya, and Clouds rest. Really, the views here are just to die for. Making it even better is that few people make the short journey over to this viewpoint.

So when Brittany and Nolan asked me where they should have their sunrise elopement session and vow exchange Olmsted was it. We met up just before the sun had made it over the distant mountains and made the short hike out to the viewpoint. Shooting before the sun rises is always fun as with each shot you take you see golden light of dawn creeping across the background and then suddenly it breaks over the horizon and floods the scene with beautiful light.

After the sun rose we headed down to Lake Tenaya less than five minutes away but were unlucky to find that the Park was repaving all the parking lots as well as the turnouts so we couldn’t stop. You just never know when eloping what to expect so flexibility is key! We pulled a U-turn and made are way to a small pond just off the road before Olmsted Point. There Brittany and Nolan had a sweet and intimate vow exchange.

With most of our shoot now over we drove down to the valley below to end this perfect day. These two hand a fantastic idea for a grand finale for their shoot, Food! They prepared a little picnic for themselves so we found a quite wooded place along the shore of the Merced River and they set up their reception for two. A perfect end to a incredible shoot.